The present invention relates to masonry blocks used in construction and more particularly to the thermal insulation of such a block.
The current world-wide emphasis on energy conservation has prompted the proposal of numerous techniques for thermal insulation of buildings and other structures. Heretofore, buildings have been insulated in many different ways, presenting problems of varying sorts. One common method of building construction involves the use of masonry blocks which are of concrete casting. The blocks are bonded together to form the shell of the building. Insulation of such walls by applying layers of thermally insulative material to the surface of these walls to meet the required thermal insulation standards involves considerable expense and loss of interior building space. These problems have promoted numerous proposals which involve the placement of a thermal insulation medium within a concrete block. In this connection, attention is directed to U.S. Pats. Nos. 1,884,319; 2,199,112; 2,852,934; 2,933,146; 3,204,381; 3,546,833; and 3,704,562 for examples of such structure.
Another proposal involves the placement of U-shaped styrofoam inserts within the recesses of concrete blocks. Each insert is installed such that the legs of the insert lie parallel to one another flush against the inside and outside walls of the block and with the bight portion of the insert lying flush against a web of the block so as to extend transverse to the inside and outside surfaces of the block.
Among the disadvantages that can arise from the previous proposals are undue cost and less than optimum thermal insulation. For instance those blocks which must be of special design to adapt to the insulation add significantly to cost. In some instances significant portions of the block must be removed, thereby presenting problems regarding structural strength of the blocks. Those blocks which eliminate the advantage of thermally insulative air cells, or which unduly limit the ratio between air volume and concrete volume within the block, are incapable of achieving optimum insulative results. Blocks in which an extent of the insulation extends from the outer to the inner block wall increase the thermal travel path to an undesirable degree, thereby limiting the thermal insulative effects that can be achieved.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a novel insulated masonry block of low cost, high thermally insulative construction.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide an insulated masonry block which is applicable to conventional block designs and which requires only minimal amounts of insulative material.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an insulated masonry block which incorporates a high/air concrete ratio and minimizes the size of non-insulated heat transfer paths.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an insulative block structure which requires no significant reduction in size of structural support portions of the block and which can be pre-assembled prior to erecting a wall.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel method for assembling a wall of insulative concrete blocks.